BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 16, 2020– In a letter dated July 14, 2020, Gaspar Vega formally announced his resignation as area representative for the UDP Orange Walk North division. His resignation comes just days after Patrick Faber’s rise to the position of leader-elect of the United Democratic Party.

In his letter, Vega said, “It was not an easy decision, as I truly love and value the people of Orange Walk North.”

While this resignation letter clearly confirms his departure from the forefront of electoral politics, he said that his involvement with the UDP and politics in Orange Walk North will not end there. Vega confirmed that he will work with his party to find a suitable replacement in his division, and pledged that he would lend his support to deliver a victory for the UDP in the upcoming general elections.

Readers will recall Vega’s previous resignation from Cabinet in 2016 after a major land scandal surfaced involving himself, as Minister of Lands, and his son, Andre Vega.

Andre Vega was paid $400,000 by government for a duplicate Minister’s Fiat Grant. He was subsequently ordered by the Supreme Court of Belize to return the money to the Government, but it is not known if that court case has been definitively concluded and the money returned.

Vega has been underground for some time, absent from meetings at the House of Representatives and from the public domain generally.

UDP party leader-elect, Patrick Faber, has publicly spoken strongly against Gaspar Vega in the past, because of corruption allegations in the Lands Department, which was under Vega’s portfolio.

However, in a recent interview, Faber commented, “I don’t see a better candidate for the UDP in Orange Walk North.”

With the general elections just four months away, Vega’s departure will leave yet another gap for the UDP to fill.